Wed13Jul16: Riga, Latvia (rest day)

Good buffet breakfast at the hotel, with a very full dining room because of tour groups from Germany and Italy.  While having breakfast with Mark (USA) and Cindy (USA), Roommate sits down and joins in the conversation, at one point calling me "Doug". Now the two of us have been sharing hotel rooms since TDA put us together 10 days ago, but I now realise that Roommate has never called me by name and obviously doesn't even know my first name.  Interesting social skills. 


Afterwards I asked Reception for a few old towels/rags for the group, and was able to wash two days of mud and grit off my own bike, oiled the chain, so now I'm ready to roll tomorrow morning.
Latvia consists of 62% ethnic Latvians and and 26% ethnic Russians.  Formal plaques & signs are in Latvian, but many public items (bus stops, museum captions, books, etc.) are in both Latvian and Cyrillic.  Latvians don't seem to be as well off as Estonians, and their level of English skills don't rate as highly.

Took the tram across the bridge and purchased a City Tour bus pass, E15 for the day.  The 10am circuit covered both sides of the river and lasted an hour, giving a good overview of Riga, lots of old structures blended in with some newer buildings, fancy shopping areas, but the Old City seems like the best area to explore on foot.
Another difference between Latvia and Russia:  in both countries, motorists are supposed to stop at a pedestrian crossing.  In Latvia, cars will stop BEFORE a pedestrian reaches the crosswalk; in Russia a car came so close to Kathy and I in a crosswalk that I kicked the fender to let the driver know I was unhappy.

Back to the Old City just in time for the 11:15am river tour (E5), a one hour cruise up and down the Daugava River, with some interesting views.
Now it's time to do some walking, the fort at Riga Pils, the Military Museum at the Powder Tower, a walk along Canal Park, another visit to the Independence Monument, over to the Central Market with its adjacent railroad station and bus depot.  Then it's time for a late lunch at "Wok for Walk" (stir-fry to go) before hopping the tram back to the hotel for a shower, a rest, and some editing.  Historically speaking, the Old City in Riga is definitely a match for that in Tallinn; there may be fewer real old buildings, but it's much larger, flatter, and every courtyard is full of restaurants and buskers playing every imaginable musical instrument.